Performance Analysis of a Vibration Absorber for Small Wind Turbine Tower Using an Equivalent Model

Tower resonance in wind turbines is a major problem in terms of structural stability and power generation performance. In this study, a method for designing a tuned mass damper for a wind turbine tower is presented using an equivalent vibration model. An equivalent vibration system with the same frequency response as the tower model is obtained in the first resonance band, and a two degrees-of-freedom equivalent vibration model with a vibration absorber is determined. We propose a method for predicting the vibration reduction effect of the vibration absorber using the equivalent vibration model, and designing an appropriate tuned mass vibration absorber. Finally, the reliability of the analytical method was verified by evaluating the performance of the vibration absorber for a scaled-down model of the wind turbine tower.